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"The Ghetto" | ||||
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Single by Donny Hathaway | ||||
from the album Everything Is Everything | ||||
A-side | "The Ghetto, Pt. 1" | |||
B-side | "The Ghetto, Pt. 2" | |||
Released | 1969 | |||
Recorded | 1969 | |||
Genre | Soul jazz | |||
Length | 6:50 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Donny Hathaway singles chronology | ||||
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"The Ghetto" is a socially conscious, mostly instrumental jazz-flavored anthem, released as the first single off American soul singer Donny Hathaway's debut album, Everything Is Everything , released as a single in 1969 on Atlantic Records.
The song was co-written by Hathaway and Leroy Hutson. The song was a 6-minute and 50 second extravaganza which built upon a cinematic feel with its lengthy instrumental though it did feature vocal ad-libs from Hathaway, who played Wurlitzer electronic piano on the song, and constant chants of the song's title. The song has a distinctive Afro-Cuban sound with congas.
The song also featured additional background dialogue from what sounds like men talking on a street corner and a baby crying – that baby being Hathaway's own daughter Lalah before Hathaway ended the song with frenetic hand claps.
When originally released in 1969, the song became a modest charted single, peaking at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. [1]
The song was also featured on Hathaway's revered Live album in which Hathaway and his musicians played a faster version of the song and later featured Hathaway getting the audience to sing the final chorus. The song was also used in the 1977 film Short Eyes .
Co-writer Leroy Hutson recorded a version of the song entitled "The Ghetto '74" for his album The Man! (1973). Since then, the song has been sampled in hip-hop songs, most famously, Too Short's "The Ghetto", which featured Gerald Levert singing the chorus.
George Benson, accompanied by keyboardist Joe Sample, covered the song on his album Absolute Benson .
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who Rolling Stone described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Hathaway is also renowned for his renditions of "A Song for You", "For All We Know", and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", along with "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", two of many collaborations with Roberta Flack. He has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame and won one Grammy Award from four nominations. Hathaway was also posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dutch director David Kleijwegt made a documentary called Mister Soul – A Story About Donny Hathaway, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 28, 2020.
Gavin Christopher was an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.
Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer-songwriter and daughter of Soul musician Donny Hathaway.
"This Christmas" is a song by American soul musician Donny Hathaway released in 1970 by Atco Records. The song gained renewed popularity when it was included in 1991 on Atco Records' revised edition of their 1968 Soul Christmas compilation album and has since become a modern Christmas standard, with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers reporting that it was the 30th most-performed holiday song of all time.
Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions.
The Man! is the second solo album by Leroy Hutson. The photography was by Joel Brodsky. The album expands on the lush arrangements of Love Oh Love.
The Need of Love is the second studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 35 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. The Need of Love would be the band's final album for Warner Bros. until 1993's Millennium on Reprise Records.
"The Ghetto" is a song by American Oakland-based rapper Too $hort. It was released on October 8, 1990 via Jive Records as the lead single from his sixth studio album Short Dog's in the House. Recorded at One Little Indian Studios in El Cerrito, California, it was produced and mixed by Al Eaton and Too $hort. The instrumental is based on the Donny Hathaway song of the same name.
"Someday We'll All Be Free" is a 1973 song by Donny Hathaway from the album Extension of a Man. The song was released as the flipside to the single "Love, Love, Love." Though the song was only released as an uncharted A-side, it is considered an R&B standard, having been covered by many artists over the years.
Live is a 1972 live album by American soul artist Donny Hathaway. It was recorded at two concerts: side one at The Troubadour in Hollywood, and side two at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village, Manhattan based on the guidance of Jerry Wexler.
"The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis's band, who were members of Flack's band at the time. Produced by Atlantic Records, the song was released on Flack's 1977 album Blue Lights in the Basement, and as a single in 1978. It became a major crossover hit, becoming Flack's biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single, "Killing Me Softly with His Song". Originally set as a solo single, Flack's manager, David Franklin, suggested a duet with Hathaway, which resulted in the finished work.
Everything Is Everything is the debut studio album by American soul artist Donny Hathaway, which was released on July 1, 1970 on the Atlantic Records' subsidiary, Atco.
"Juicy Fruit" is a song written by James Mtume and released as the lead-off single from Mtume's third album, also titled Juicy Fruit. It features lead vocals by Tawatha Agee. The mid-tempo song is Mtume's most well-known, proving enormously successful on R&B radio stations when first released. The song is about oral sex.
"Good Times" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Styles P, of East Coast hip hop group the LOX. It was released as his solo debut single and served as the lead single from his debut album, A Gangster and a Gentleman (2002). The song, produced by Swizz Beatz and Saint Denson, samples "I Get High ", as performed by Freda Payne.
"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in October 1971, from her eighteenth album, Young, Gifted and Black (1972). The single reached the No. 9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that same year. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The original A-side, a rendition of the song "Oh Me Oh My " peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
"My Block" is a song by American rapper Scarface and the second single released from his seventh studio album The Fix (2002).
JR Hutson is an American record producer, executive producer, songwriter and talent developer. He has collaborated with several notable artists including Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Stevie Wonder, George Duke, Trick Daddy, Anthony Hamilton, Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway, Earth Wind & Fire, Wayman Tisdale and Childish Gambino. Hutson has been awarded Gold and Platinum records. He has also been nominated for four Grammy Awards. He is currently producing and developing talent.
Higher Ground is an album by jazz organist Johnny Hammond recorded for the Kudu label in 1973.
Wu-Tang Forever is the second studio album by the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released June 3, 1997, by Loud and RCA Records in the United States. Pressed as a double album, it was released after a long run of successful solo projects from various members of the group, and serves as the follow-up to their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang . Forever features several guest appearances from Wu-Tang affiliates Cappadonna, Streetlife, 4th Disciple, True Master, and Tekitha. The original run of compact discs featured an enhanced CD which allowed users to walk around the "Wu Mansion" and access additional content.
Lalah Hathaway Live is the first live album by American singer Lalah Hathaway. It was released on October 30, 2015 through her own label, Hathaway Entertainment, and eOne. The album won Best R&B Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2017. She also earned a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for her cover of "Angel" by Anita Baker.